The Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business recently issued a public consultation document on the proposed reform of shop opening hours. Compared with other government initiatives in the pipeline, this proposed reform does not seem to have attracted the attention it deserves.

Contrary to the opinion of those who think that these changes will affect only those directly involved in the retail business, experience in other countries has shown that the liberalisation of shop opening hours has far-reaching consequences on the whole of society.

On the one hand, the public consultation document rightly points out that the prevailing situation is unjust, given that it is creating an unlevel playing field whereby only some businesses can open on a Sunday, according to the shop type and location.

Besides, consumers, many of whom lead a very hectic lifestyle, are not being adequately served because they are being deprived of the choice to shop on a Sunday by regulations deemed to be anachronistic.

On the other hand, the document fails to address a number of issues that simply cannot be ignored. First of all, a document that gives so much importance to ‘discretion’ and choice, that shop owners and consumers should have to open and shop on Sundays, fails to mention the lack of choice workers will probably be faced with if the owners of the outlets where they are employed decide to open on a Sunday.

Will they be able to opt out of Sunday working? While this may be feasible in the case of large businesses, workers employed in smaller family enterprises may be deprived of this choice.

Moreover, even shop owners who are reluctant to open on a Sunday may ultimately be forced to do so.

This is especially the case of small and medium-sized retailers who could be under pressure to open on Sundays not to find themselves squeezed out of business by their bigger competitors.

As can be seen, the discussion on the freedom of choice is not as straightforward as one might initially think.

The liberalisation of shop opening hours has far-reaching consequences on the whole of society

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, there is an aspect of this debate that has not been tackled properly, if at all.

The ‘law of the Sabbath’, prescribing a mandatory day of rest, is not only a religious rule but one of humanity, which guarantees that, once a week, there are no masters and slaves but people and citizens who are free to enjoy quality time with their families and friends and participate in cultural, sports, social and religious activities.

To be fair, the public consultation document lays down that all shops not allowed to open on Sunday and who decide to do so must remain closed on another day chosen by the owners. But the issue here is not so much that of having a day off but, rather, that of guaranteeing a common day of rest.

If the rest day chosen by the shop owner is, for example, a Monday, when we all know that children are at school, on which day of the week will the whole family be together?

Without a certain degree of coordination and synchronisation between school holidays and days of rest from work, reconciling work with duties towards children and other dependants becomes difficult, if not impossible.

A common work-free day does not by itself guarantee a proper family life. But it certainly helps.

It also creates the necessary framework which allows people to reject a lifestyle that is purely economic-driven, thus dedicating themselves to other activities apart from working and consuming.

The debate around Sunday shopping is multifaceted – and it cannot be otherwise, given the complexity of present-day lifestyles and the multiple pressures faced by families.

The aim of these few words is certainly not that of oversimplifying a complex debate. On the contrary, the invitation is to consider all sides of the issue.

Sunday shopping is not only about opening times, tourist zones and consumer choice.

It’s also about the quantity and quality of the time we wish to spend together as family and friends.It’s about the type of lifestyle we wish to lead.

And it’s about the type of society we wish to live in.

Fr Mark Cachia is director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.